The most serious human rights abuses in Guyana during last year involved mistreatment of suspects and detainees by security forces, unlawful killings by police, and poor prison and jail conditions, the US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 on Guyana has said.
According to the report, other human rights problems included lengthy pretrial detention; allegations of government corruption, including among police officials; sexual and domestic violence against women and abuse of minors.
It noted that there were no independent and transparent procedures for handling allegations of killings and other abuses by security force members.
“Prosecutions when pursued were extremely lengthy, and convictions were rare. As a result there was a widespread perception that security force members enjoyed impunity,” the report said.
However, it pointed out that neither the government nor its agents committed any politically motivated killings, and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) received no complaints of unlawful killings. The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) recorded five fatal police shootings.
Meanwhile, the report said, there were reports alleging mistreatment of inmates by prison officials as well as allegations of police abuse of suspects and detainees. It disclosed that during last year the PCA received 11 complaints of unnecessary use of violence while local media reported several cases of random police brutality, arrest, and interrogation prior to investigation.
“Prison and jail conditions were poor and deteriorating, particularly in police holding cells. Capacity and resource constraints were a problem,” the report said.
It was noted that the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) reported that as of October 31, there were 1,962 prisoners in five facilities, which had a combined design capacity of 1,580. A total of 997 prisoners were in Georgetown’s Camp Street Prison, which was designed to hold 775 inmates. Overcrowding was in large part due to a backlog of pretrial detainees, who constituted approximately 39 per cent of the total prison population.
But prisoners have access to potable water, and government medical officers visit each prison on a monthly basis. In addition, a medical staff consisting of a medical examiner, registered nurses, and assistant nurses provide daily treatment and monitor the sick as advised by the medical doctors.
There were 88 female prisoners, all at the New Amsterdam prison. Authorities held some female detainees temporarily at the East La Penitence Police Station. The GPS offered rehabilitation programmes focused on vocational training and education. However, such programmes did not adequately address the needs of prisoners with substance abuse problems.
And unlike in past years, when all newly hired prison guards received human rights training from the GHRA, the association was not invited to perform training during the year.
The report stated that the government investigated and monitored prison and detention centre conditions. Prison visiting committees prepared monthly reports on the Georgetown, Mazaruni, New Amsterdam, and Timehri prisons. Based upon such reports, the GPS identified areas for improvement, especially with regard to health care, such as the need for a permanent doctor and increased staffing and training.
Further, the report said problems at the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), which houses juveniles below the age of 16, included lax security and understaffing. It said that there were complaints that juvenile runaways, or those out of their guardians’ care, were placed with juveniles who had committed crimes, leading some petty offenders to become involved in more serious criminal activity.
But there was no indication that the government declined to permit outside groups to monitor prison conditions independently, but there were no known requests to make such visits during the year.
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these prohibitions. However, during the year the PCA received a number of complaints of unlawful arrest.
Inadequate training
Meantime the report cited inadequate training, poor equipment, and acute budgetary constraints that severely limited the GPF’s effectiveness. It said that public confidence in, and cooperation with, the police remained low. There were reports of corruption in the police force and while police force abuses may be reported to the PCA the body does not possess an independent investigation unit.
Authorities charged and brought to court 39 GPF members for various crimes including robbery, simple larceny, bribery, and indecent assault. And last year the PCA received 245 written complaints and 339 oral complaints, 79 of which were sent from the commissioner of police. Most cited police neglect of duties, unlawful arrest, and unnecessary use of force. The PCA recommended disciplinary action in 30 cases; there were no recommendations for criminal charges. At year’s end 102 cases remained outstanding.
“PCA efforts to conduct impartial and transparent assessment of the accusations it received were obstructed by staff shortages (six of seven full-time positions were filled), as well as the lack of an investigative unit,” the report said.
And while by law the police commissioner must comply with the PCA’s recommendations on complaints, the body relied on the GPF to conduct investigations into complaints against its own officers. Long delays in receiving reports from the commissioner also thwarted the complaints process. Most cases involving charges against police officers were heard by lower magistrate’s courts, where specially trained police officers served as the prosecutors.
Corruption
On another issue, the report said the government’s monopoly on radio broadcasting continued throughout most of the year.
Meanwhile, the report said while the law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption the government did not implement the law effectively.
“There were reports alleging government corruption and complacency in enforcing these laws with respect to officials engaged in corrupt practices. The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem,” the report said.
It stated that there was a widespread public perception of serious corruption in the government, including law enforcement and the judicial system. Low wages among police and other public servants contributed to the incidence of bribery.
And the report made reference to former Assistant Commissioner Steve Merai’s allegations last year that many officers had connections to drug dealers. He said while authorities began an investigation and last October Crime Chief Seelall Persaud submitted a report to Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee no action was taken by year’s end.
And while public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and are required to submit information about personal assets to the Integrity Commission the compliance was uneven.
Rape and Domestic Violence
Turning its attention to rape and domestic violence the report pointed out that the law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, but neither type of rape was frequently reported nor successfully prosecuted.
“Rape was a serious problem and pervasive in society. Many survivors did not report rapes because of fear of stigma, retribution, or further violence. Police and prosecutors were not effective in investigation or prosecuting rape cases. During the year authorities charged 97 persons with rape, but only one was convicted, due in part to the large court backlog,” the report said.
Additionally, the report said, authorities charged 31 persons with statutory rape, and four were convicted (including persons charged in preceding years). It said that a judge has discretion to issue a sentence of any length in a rape conviction, depending on the circumstances and severity of the act committed but the norm appeared to be a sentence of five to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The report mentioned the rape allegations made against former police commissioner Henry Greene.
Meantime, the report said domestic violence and violence against women, including spousal abuse, were widespread and crossed racial and socioeconomic lines. It noted that there were reports of police accepting bribes and other reports of magistrates applying inadequate sentences after conviction of these offences. In addition, cases heard involving violation of a protective order tended to be categorized as assault cases.
And the report said according to a non-governmental organization (NGO), the GPF reorganized police units in order to include domestic violence units where victims can be counselled in private. The group observed that in most cases domestic violence reports were not taken confidentially but rather in the open at the front desk at police stations and were not treated as a matter of urgency.
